Line-shaft roller conveyer with shiftable bearings



Jan. 25, 1955 R. A. BURKHART LINE-SHAFT ROLLER CONVEYER WITH SHIFTABLE BEARINCS Filed Aug. 7, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 25,1955 R. A. BURKHART 2,700,451

LINE-SHAFT ROLLER CONVEYER WITH SHIFTABLE BEARINGS Filed Aug. 7, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent LINE-SHAFT ROLLER- CONVEYER WITH SHIFTABLE BEARINGS Raymond A. Burkhart, Pittsburgh, Pa, :assignor to United States Steel Corporation, a'oorporation of New Jersey Application August 7,, 1953, Serial No. 372,909

6 Claims. (Cl. 198 .-127

This invention relates to improvements in roller conveyors of the type in which the rolls are driven from a line shaft.

On occasion individual rolls, gearsor even the. line shaft suffer breakdowns which necessitate their removal and subsequent replacement. To minimizei interruptions in conveyor operation, such conveyors commonly are constructed so that the rolls and shaft are as easily removed as possible. Sometimes a conveyor can continue to operate with a broken roll simply removed, and a replacement can be installed later when the equipment is shut down. Nevertheless particular rolls may be critical in that the conveyor cannot operate properly in their absence. If a critical roll or its gears fail, elther a replacement must be installed immediately or else, when time does not permit or none is available, the gear teeth can be burned off completely to allow the roll to remain in place as an idler.

An object of the present invention is to prov1de an improved roller conveyor in which any individual roll readily convertible to an idler merely by shlfting its position, whereby it can remain in the conveyor despite a breakdown.

A further object is to provide an improvedroller conveyor in which the rolls and their thrust bearings are mdividually shiftable in the direction of the roll axes to disengage their gears from those on the line shaft and thus convert any roll to an idler without affectmg the other rolls.

A further object is to provide an improved roller conveyor which affords the foregoing advantages and yet does not require extra parts likely to become misplaced or difiicult to install.

A more specific object is to provide an improved roller conveyor in which the outside walls of the thrust bean ings for the rolls carry integral keys, and the bearing supports have keyways spaced apart in the direction of the roll axis and adapted to receive said keys in difierent relations to afford either a driven roll or an idler.

In accomplishing these and other objects of the invention, I have provided improved details of structure, a preferred form of which is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view, partly in section, of a portion of a roller conveyor constructed in accordance with my invention; the gears being shown in mesh;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view on line II--II of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure l but showing the gears disengaged; and

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view on line IV-IV of Figure 3.

The drawings show a portion of a roller conveyor which comprises a bedplate 10, a series of parallel rolls 12, and a line shaft 13 adapted to be driven by any suitable means not shown. One side of the bedplate carries a series of housings 14, each opposite a different roll. Each housing has a cover 15 removably bolted thereto, and a hearing 16 which rotatably carries the line shaft. This shaft carries a series of spacer sleeves 17. Each housing and cover also afford a support for a roll thrust bearing 18 hereinafter more fully described. The line shaft 13 extends at right angles to the roll axes adjacent the ends of the rolls. Within each housing the line shaft carries a bevel gear 19 which is positioned thereon by the sleeves 17, and the adjacent end of the roll shaft carries a cormsponding bevel gear 20 adapted to mesh with the first gear to drive the roll. Theopposite sideof thejbedpla'te 10, carries a series of bearingfhousings 21,, onefforeach roll. Each housing 21 containsan .antifrict'ion bearing 22- in which the other end of the roll shaft .isjslidahly and rotatablymounted.

In accordance-with the present invention, any of1the rolls 12 and its thrust bearing18 can be shifted axially to disengage its gear20 from the gear 19 onthe .line shaft 13, and thus convert'that particular rollto an idler, without aifecting the other rolls. Each thrustbea'ring- 18 is longitudinally ,fixed relative to its roll and includes. a cartridge '23 which contains the usual. antifriction means for mountin'g'the roll-shaft. The outs'ideperipheralface of the cartridge 23 carries an integral or otherwise rigidly affixed key,24.' In the illustration this key extends through a semicircular arc, although obviously {its arcuatev extent can vary. The support for the thrust bearing contains a, pair of longitudinally spaced keyways .25 and,2'6,,-the first of which is closer' to the line shaft 13 than the second. In the illustration both keyways, extend through .sernicircular arcs removed from each other; the keyway 25 is cut into the housing 14 and keyway 26 into the cover 15, although obviously this arrangement also can vary.

Each thrust bearing 18 can be supported with its key 24 in either keyway 25 or 26. Normally the key is in the former keyway, in which position gears 19 and 20 mesh, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, so that the roll 12 is driven from the line shaft. When the key is in the latter keyway, these gears are disengaged, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, so that the roll operates as an idler. To convert any roll 12 to an idler, it is only necessary to remove the cover 15 opposite that roll, turn the exposed bearing cartridge 23 a half revolution about the roll axis so that the key 24 faces upwardly, shove the roll endwise away from the line shaft 13, and replace the cover. There are clearance spaces x and y (Figure l) in the housings 14 and 21 to permit the roll axially to move the necessary distance. The arrangement of keys and keyways illustrated has the advantage that it positively fixes the axial position of the roll, and yet permits the roll to be shifted without need for lifting it to disengage the key from its keyway. Nevertheless it is apparent that equivalent results might be attained with other forms of interrupted keys.

From the foregoing description it is seen that my invention enables any individual roll to be shifted readily to a position where it becomes an idler. This conversion can be performed with a minimum interruption to conveyor operation. Thus any time there is a breakdown, such as a broken roll or gear, that roll can remain in place as an idler until the conveyor is shut down, when permanent repairs can be made. My construction has the further advantage that the keys are integral with the thrust bearings. Consequently there are no additional parts to handle, and the only parts that require removal when a roll is converted to an idler are the cover and its attaching bolts.

While I have shown and described only a single embodiment of the invention, it is apparent that modifications may arise. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the disclosure set forth but only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A roller conveyor comprising a bedplate, a plurality of parallel rolls, a line shaft, bearings rotatably mounting said rolls and said line shaft on said bedplate with said line shaft at right angles to the roll axes adjacent one end thereof and including a separate thrust bearing for each roll, gears on said line shaft and said rolls adapted to furnish a driving connection therebetween, said rolls and their thrust bearings being individually axially shiftable toward and away from said line shaft and having a position in which the gears thereon mesh with those on said line shaft and a second position in which these gears are disengaged, a key rigid with the outside of each of said thrust bearings and projecting from the outer periphery thereof, and support means on said bedplate for each thrust bearing affording a pair of keyways spaced apart in the direction of the roll axis and adapted to receive the key thereon in either of said posi- 3 tions enabling said rolls to be driven from said line shaft or to operate as idlers.

2. A conveyor as defined in claim 1 in which each of said keys and keyways occupies a semicircular arc and the two keyways are 180 removed from each other.

3. A conveyor as defined in claim 1 in'which each of said keys occupies a semicircular arc, and in which said support means includes a removable cover, one of said keyways being formed in said cover and the other being formed therebelow, each of said keyways occupying a semicircular arc and being 180 removed from each other.

A roller conveyor comprising a bedplate, a plurality of parallel rolls, a line shaft, a plurality of bearing housings along one side of said bedplate, each of which is opposite a different one of said rolls, removable covers fixed to said housings, a pair of bearings for each of said rolls, one of which pair is a thrust bearing mounted in said housing and the other of which is mounted on the opposite side of said bedplate and slidably and rotatably supports the other end of the roll, gears on said line shaft and said rolls within said housings adapted to furnish a driving connection therebetween, said rolls and their thrust bearings being individually shiftable toward and away from said line shaft and having a position in which the gears thereon mesh with those on said line shaft and a second position in which these gears are disengaged, and a key rigid with the outside of each of said thrust bearings and projecting from the outer periphery thereof, said housing and cover for each roll having keyways spaced apart in the direction of the roll axis and adapted to receive said key in either of said positions enabling said rgllls to be driven from said line shaft or to operate as 1 ers.

5. A conveyor as defined in claim 4 in which said keys and keyways are interrupted enabling said thrust bearings to be rotated to disengage the keys for shifting the thrust bearings and rolls.

6. A conveyor as defined in claim 4 in which said keys and keyways are of semicircular arcuate extent, one of the keyways for each thrust bearing being cut in the housing and the other being cut in the cover, enabling said thrust bearings to be rotated on removal of the cover to disengage'the key from the keyway in the housing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 711,947 Dittbenner Oct. 28, 1902 2,098,492 Frudden Nov. 9, 1937 2,386,946 Greiner et a1 Oct. 16, 1945 

